Railway. Vladivostok has a good harbor, and, were it not frozen over so much of the year, it would be one of the best on that coast. Although its latitude is nearly the same as that of New York, it is icebound for four or five months in each year.

We cannot believe that the great Russian Empire would build the longest railroad in the world to end in such a port. Doubtless her eyes are fixed on Port Lazareff, or some other station of equal importance, on the Korean coast, where she may terminate the road and make a naval station for her war ships. How to secure control of this vantage point is the problem now before the Russian government, and only time will show by what method it will be solved.

The work of building the Siberian railroad is now well under way, and it is expected to be completed in 1905. The long journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea will then be made with ease; a new highway for commerce between Europe and Asia will then be established; and last, but far from least, the power of the Russian government in the Far East will then be immeasurably increased.

The slow-moving caravans, by which so many of the products of these far-away regions have been carried into Russia, will soon be a thing of the past.

The long journey from Peking to St. Petersburg has required six months by caravan, but with the opening of the railroad it is expected to be made in three weeks.

Much of the trade in tea, silk, porcelain, and the various other manufactures and products of China and Japan will then be carried into Europe by the railroad,

instead of over the steamship lines, as at the present time.

Among the many difficult engineering feats which must be accomplished in the construction of this railway are the bridges across the Amur, the Yenesei, and the Obi rivers.

These three are among the world's largest streams, and, with the opening of the railroad, they are certain to become of vast importance in developing the commerce and the settlement of the remoter regions of Siberia.

From the Amur River the railroad is to be laid through a district rich in minerals and producing an abundance of petroleum. Here are the famous silver mines, in which so many of the Russian exiles have been condemned to work.

The line is to pass around the southern end of Lake Baikal. This great lake, four hundred miles long, is the largest fresh-water lake in Asia. It was formerly crossed by sailing vessels only; and many were the wrecks occurring there because of the violent storms which frequently sweep across the lake. Now there are stanch steamboats in which the journey is made with greater safety.

It is with surprise we learn that the engines, the boilers, and all the rest of the machinery of these steamboats were brought overland from St. Petersburg, a distance of four thousand miles.

During the severe Siberian winter Lake Baikal is frozen over and is then crossed on sledges, some laden with goods from the East, others carrying the mails to Moscow,

The method of traveling in Siberia at the present time is interesting in the extreme, and should be fully understood, since it probably will be continued in the regions not reached by the railroad.

This remarkable system of post roads has been well described by Mr. George Kennan, the famous traveler who journeyed far and wide over Siberia in search of information about the Russian exiles, and we will borrow his words: "The Imperial Russian Post is now perhaps the most extensive and perfectly organized horse-express service in the world. From the southern end of the peninsula of Kamchatka to the most remote village in Finland, from the frozen, wind-swept shores of the Arctic Ocean to the hot, sandy deserts of central Asia, the whole empire is one vast network of post routes. You may pack your portmanteau in Nijni Novgorod, get a passport, and start for Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka, seven thousand miles away, with the full assurance that throughout the whole of that enormous distance there will be horses, reindeer, or dogs ready and waiting to carry you on, night and day, to your destination.

From Lake Baikal the railroad is to reach the famous city of Irkutsk as the next point of importance.

Irkutsk has sometimes been called the "Paris of Siberia." It requires a wide stretch of imagination to see in this cold Siberian town much likeness to the gay French capital.

It is, however, the most important town in eastern Siberia, and contains a few streets that would be no discredit to any European city. Here there are well

built houses of brick and stone, and stores containing a great variety of beautiful goods. Along the streets dash sledges drawn by spirited horses.

In Siberia, as in other parts of Russia, horses are usually driven three abreast. Over the neck of the middle horse is a high wooden arch or bow. We can

see little use for this arch, but the Russian driver tells us it holds all the other parts of the harness together. It is certainly a picturesque addition, and gives a dashing appearance to these sledges.

For many years Irkutsk has been the center of the trade passing between China and Russia. The caravans that cross the dreary desert of Gobi bring here the tea, silk, rhubarb, and porcelain of China to be exchanged with Russian merchants for European goods, and especially for the finest Siberian furs.

No city in the world has a wider range of temperature than Irkutsk. There are many days in summer when 98° F. is registered, and in winter 50° to 65° below zero is not uncommon.

Leaving Irkutsk, the railway will cross the great forest region of Siberia.

These extensive forests of pine and cedar will then be open to the lumberman; and the timber, for which there is always a demand in the shipyards of Russia, will become a source of great profit to Siberia.

Other towns of importance on the line of the railway are Tomsk, where the Russian government has established a university; and Omsk, at present a busy, thriving place, and certain to become a prominent city.